Door closing device



April 17, 1945.v

H. H. PANCAKE I DOOR CLOSING DEVICE Filed July 2, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'April 17, 1945- H. H. PANCAKE i 2,374,155

DOOR CLOS ING DEVICE Filed July 2, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTR Hergan H Pa/zme ATTORNEY atented Apr. 17, 1945 Application July 2, 1942QSerial1Nc. 449,419

`general -andinparticuiar to such devicesint'ended to close the doors on drop bottom, mine carsihaving doors which open and Aclose in sequence.;

*Most4 of f the installations using `drop bottom -mine"cars-'utilize a permanent 'rampl for closingI the-car doors but -sincethe doors must be lifted "'slightlvI abovev their nal" positionfy itv `vis impossible to transfcrtthecarsY plastjth'e rampjwithout the doors striking theramp jeven-y though s'closed.- Furthermore, 'ai' 'lot' or' installations tion fto' provide a'door closingf device having a'` shifting or movabley rampgcapable of, absorbing Asome of- -the vshock `incident 'to closing of `the further object ofmtheinvention isfthe provision -oi-'adoor closing device `Whichis normally y'in-l ag-lowered position permitting, "the cars. with closed doors to pass the ramp Withcutjtouohing fthe--same. l f y f'- 7'sA-stili further object of-the invention is the 'fp'rovision Vof a `door closing deviceghaving a ramp member mounted 'on-special form-'rockers lwinch canse af-grad-ual rise in thepositioncfthe ramp as it moves inthe direction lof i 'car :movement u n- -derimpact of -thef open doors.

` Referring nowy to the drawings ind'etail f -Yet another'lobje'ct "ofthe invention is theprovision of a-doo'r closingA devicel so 'mounted on rockers as to oiier slight yresistance :to movement whenviriaflowered'position but in which theresistance increases yas the ramp s'raised'.'

' A yet vfurtherobject fof the inventionns Vthe -provisionbf adoor closing-device mounted on rockers Jwith Ithe' rWhole so Aconstructed and .ballar'icedfthatftheiioor closing rampfmay move to- *due ito impact cf' the door onthe ramp.

astudy ofthe `following descriptiorand accompanym-gdra'wings,-in-whichz" portion vmay vary irom the off-theedoor closing device; 'Figi 3 -isasectonal View taken subst'antialiycn line -SYofv Fig.` 2, and -Y ."Fig. 4 'is a, view similarto Fig. libvut yshowing 4the' device in door-closingposition f v v it win beseen that the lcar illustrated in conjunction 'with-the door closing device is ofthe automatic drop bottom `typel having side -sills 2, axles 4 and ysupporting Wheels 6. Hinge 44rods -w8 extend across the car from sill to silt and-pivotallywcarry doors 9, 10 and' 12 arranged 'respectively from ythe-front vto the rear of the caro' Thedoorsfof course, may be 'of `any suitable -form vbut asillustrated are 'ofthe type having a projecting porvbroken away to betterdisolose ltheconstruction ition' I4 adaptedA to support the nextadjacentl door when in the closed position. v

The door closing device, as clearly' showninthe drawings, is formed-by abasemember A, a door closingl rarnpmemberB and rockers C.v Theba'se member is ofigeneralchannel crossssection hav- -ing side-walls or fianges' and a connecting .web orbottom 22. 1 In the instance shownfa'nd yfor ease of construction land attachment to the `fsuppcuting structure; the sides -or iianges of the 'channelllike .base member areformed oi angles 44withthe uprightlegs or iianges 2li forming the flanges o f vthe"channel;"while the horizontal 'legs 24 are in 'substantial 'alignmentfwiththe web portion 22 of the channe'lllike member.` The =web1portion 22 is-securely weldedl tothe angle members as'at-'W and "is Jformed of a'vplate'fhavingits'ends-turned upwardly as at 26 `toclese the-l :ends .of"the' channel member'andcorn- -plete-an'upwardly open floo'x *like base. -`-Portions oifthewveb are .pressed upwardly iasat 28 (Fi'gs. f lrand 4)- lto forman inclined trackway-With the "trackwaypierced' by conical openings 30 adapted -to'ireceive Aconical projections 32 formed on the rocking surface 34foi the rockers'fO. course, obviousjthat the inclination ofl the track plamne vof lthe "web to anydesired degree. I Y EachAv ofthe rockers isl ionned roughly-'as a quarter segment of a'cylinder, althoughthe rockvvinglsurface 341s vpreferably not a 4vtrue cylindrical -tlirougha Vear and showing *the AYdoors "in closed position and passing overthej door closing rdevicewhich Aisain-norrnal-orlowered position; i, mg Y "2113s an :inverted-*Pien rieti rfhlpefts, i"itrlellrsrredrriihr,referente-,wpthan' surface- `throughout nbut is formed as a 'fpart' of pivot -pin -38 vextending through the rocker and through Kthe sides of the yramp 4liieinloer jlaterto be described. 'y Thus-the rocker Surface .is eccen- "'in.

an irregular curve.V Each ofthe `rockers is. ypierced as at 13G-stone side of thev center of l The pins or rods 46 are` As clearly shown in Fig. 4, the rockers have the portion between limiting pin 46 and pivot pin 38 lightened by re-ffmoval of metal as at 52. In other words, the

nose 54 is weighted so as to'constantly urge the rocker toward a position such as is occupied by i i lt in Fig. 4.

The door closing ramp is preferably formed as I' an inverted channel and may be made from a single pressing but, in the present instance, is made of curved side pieces 66 constituting flanges of the inverted channel ,and joined together by the hat web plate 62. The side pieces and web are curved so as to present a substantially vertical end wall 64 merging to an inclined surface 66 which in turn curves as at 68 into a substantially at upper surface 10. This fiat upper surface at the rear end of the ramp merges into a downwardly curved, portion 12, all of which is `clearly shown in Figs. l and 4. The side anges 60 of the inverted` channel form ramp member have reinforcing plates 16 attached thereto and pierced to receive the pivot pins 38 which, as`

clearly shown in Fig. .3, are formed with a shoulder 18 and pierced to receive a cotter pin or other retaining means 8U.. i

Thus it will be seen that in assembling the device it is only necessary to take the fabricated.

parts and drop the rockers into proper position in the base members and insert pin 46, thus holding the rockers in position inthe base member. The inverted channel form ramp may then be lowered into position and pivot pins 38 inserted entrance of coal or other foreign matter into the' t upwardly open base member A.`

f With the door closingA device assembledit will be seen that although the weighted nose 54 of the rockers tends to rock them in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 4, the weight;

of the ramp will, dueto the relative position of pivot pin 38, tend to cause the rockers to rotate in a clockwise direction. By proper choice of the weight in the nose 54` of the rockers and of the curved surface 34 and pivot pin location, it isfpos-r l sible to balance the door closing ramp on the rockers so that a comparatively light blow irnparted to surface 64 will cause the ramp to shift, thereby moving the rockers and lifting the ramp. As the ramp moves the weighted nose 545:2

lowers and the point of contact between the rocker and the track approaches the nose with the net result that the resistance to continuedmovement and lifting of the ramp progressively increases. It will be obvious that as the doors, forinstance door l 0 oi' Fig. 4 rides up over the curved portion 6B of the ramp, the friction between the door and ramp will decrease. Ey proper choice of the track 28, rocker surface 34 and weight dis- 3U. the ramp drops back to its normal position as 4 after the friction between door I0 and the ramp has reached a predetermined minimum, thus it is possible to cause the ramp to automatically move toward the door l2 so as to be in position to absorb part of the shock when the door I2 strikes the vertical part 64 of the ramp. Any excessive movement of the ramp is prevented by the pin 46 riding in slot 48' of the base, while displacement of the rocker on the track is prevented by engagement of projections 32 in recesses As soon as the doors of the car are closed shown in Fig. l and the car with closed doors may move freely in either direction without contacting the ramp, thus relieving the car of any shock and preventing any unnecessary wear on the ramp or door closing device. It will be obvious that certain cars and door arrangements will require different movements of the ramp but these special movements may be easily accomplished by slight redesign of the ramp supporting rockers. Y

While the door closing device has beendescribed more or less in detail, it will be obvious to persons skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of parts may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is: u

l. In a door closing device, a base member, trackways formed on said base member, substantially cyllndrically curved rockers mounted on said trackways and rockable thereon, and a door engaging ramp member pivotally connected to said rockers and movable therewith, said pivotal connection being located to one side of the center of curvature of the rockers whereby said ramp member is raised during movement of said rockers on said trackways. Y

2. In a door' closing device, a door engaging ramp member, and rockers supporting said ramp member for a combined horizontal and vertical movement, said rockers having an eccentrically curved surface and having a greater mass adjacent one end of the curved surface whereby the movements of said ramp member are cushioned and controlled.

3. In a car door closing device, a door closing ramp member frictionally engaging the open car doors during movement of the car over the ramp in door closing direction, and eccentrically curved rockers supporting said ramp member in equilibrium and out of contact with car doors which are closed, said eccentrically curved rockers and ramp moving in unison in the direction of car travel to absorb shock and lift the doors when frictionally engaged thereby.

4. In a door closing device for cars having doors closing in sequence, a door closing ramp member frictionally engaging the open car doors and movable by the doors during movement of the car over the ramp in a door closing direction, rockershaving eccentrically curved supporting surfaces, said rockers pivotally supporting said ramp member and rockable thereby to raise the ramp member to a door closing position, said rockers having a weighted portion adjacent one posed in the nose'54, it is possible to Ycausati-le "ramp to move toward the right as viewed in Fig.

end of the eccentrically curved surface to counterbalance and support said ramp member instable equilibrium on the rockers when in a lowered position out of contact with car doors which are closed, said weighted portion lowering during rocking to progressively decrease the counterbalancing eifect thereof during movement ofthe ramp to a raised position by the doors whereby said raised ramp will have a *relatively strong tendency to lower and move toward an open door to cushion the shock of contact therewith after the friction between the ramp and a substantially closed door has reached a predetermined minimum.

5. In a door closing device for cars, a door support member, a door closing ramp member engaging the open car doors and movable relative to the support member in a substantially horirontal forward direction by the doors during movement of the car over the ramp in a door closing direction, means movably positioned between said members and normally supporting said ramp member in a lowered position and offering but slight resistance to the initial substantially horizontal movement of the ramp by the open doors, said means being so constructed and arranged as to progressively increase the distance between the point of support of said ramp member on said means and the point of support of sfaid means on said support member t thereby qffer progressively increasing resistance tothe ramp movement.

6. In a door closing device, a base member of upwardly open channel cross-section, rockers mounted on the web portion of the channel form hase member and rockable thereon, a door en- `gaging ramp member of downwardly open channel cross-section having the angesthereof over- --lapping the base member flanges to prevent enporting the latter on said rockers, and stop meanscarried by said rockers and riding in slots formed in .said base member to limit movement of the rockers. A

8. In a door closing device, an upwardly vopen channel form base member, track portions formed on the webs of said base member, rockers located inthe channel form `base member and rockably mounted on said track portions, a door engaging rampA member of inverted channel form overlapping-pl said base member and rockers, means pivotally connecting said ramp member vand rockers,jand means retaining said rockers in positionon v, said track portions.-

9. In a Ldoor closing device, a base member of upwardly open channel cross-section, a door engaging ramp member of downwardly open channel cross-section having the flangesv thereof overlapping the base member flanges to prevent entrance of foreign matter, means housed by said members and supporting said ramp member for combined longitudinal and vertical movement relativev to said base member, and additional means movably connecting said members and first named means to permit said combined movement" While preventing separation of said members.

10. In a door closing device, a base member of upwardly open channel cross-section, a door engaging ramp member of downwardly open channel cross-.section having the flanges thereof overlappingthe. base member flanges to prevent'entrance of foreign matter, means housed by said members and supporting saidv ramp member for combined longitudinal and vertical movement relative to. said base member, and additional means movably` connecting said members and first named means tovpermit said combined movement while preventing separation of said members, said first named means `being so constructed and arranged as to limitthe movement between said ramp member and base member in at least one direction.

HERMAN H. PANCAKE. 

